Wednesday, April 15, 2020

Labour Relations, Pandemic Style

By Geoff Dueck Thiessen, Regional Director, Winnipeg Member Centre

I sometimes say the work of labour relations is all about conflict. If we didn’t have conflict, we wouldn’t need unions. And conflict is a key component in negotiations, discipline, and grievances. Of course, CLAC specializes in doing labour relations in a way that minimizes the casualties of conflict (strikes, excessive and needless grievances, expensive arbitrations, etc.). We work hard to focus on interests (the why) instead of positions (the what) in order to build understanding and a positive, healthy work culture.

Then, along comes a pandemic. Suddenly, everyone is in unfamiliar territory. Much could be written about this, and probably will be. Here are some key reminders to keep us on track as we navigate uncharted territory:

We are all people, first. Owners, managers, employees, union representatives, lawyers, government officials are all going through the same things—interrupted work procedures, drastically altered personal lives, and a large increase in stress of a kind we’ve never been through before. I’ve noticed that when my labour relations conversations start with connecting first as people, the conflict is a lot easier.

We are all doing something for the first time. Author Brené Brown calls this pandemic an FFT (Effing First Time). She makes the point that we are never good at things we’ve never done before, and none of us have done a pandemic before. If we wouldn’t be good at pottery the first time we try, why would we be good at our first pandemic?

Advocacy matters. Unions have a key role to play in making our members feel supported. Employers have a lot to think about right now, as the sand constantly shifts under their feet. Unions are uniquely positioned to tap into employee concerns and make sure they’re heard. The more supported a person feels, the more secure they feel. It’s good for productivity and for mental and physical health. This pandemic could be the time employees look back and ask, “Where was my employer? Where was my union?” Or, it could be the time when they say, “That pandemic was really hard, but I knew I was supported.”

This is not the time for the “P” word. “Precedent” might well be the most loved and most despised element of labour relations. “If I do something now, I’ll have to do it again in the future.” Precedent can turn potentially productive, collaborative conversations into a strategic logjam. I propose that a pandemic is not the time to worry about precedent. It’s a highly unique situation, requiring highly unique flexible solutions.

Interests, interests, interests. Getting too stuck on fairness and rights could be a trap in this time. Instead, we would be better served to focus on the underlying hopes, fears, reasons, values, and motivations. Some key interests during this time might be safety and income security. Other interests, like career advancement and maximizing profit, might have to wait until the pandemic is over.

Patience is key. Psychiatrist Carl Jung theorized that our brains spend most of our time doing two things: gathering information and making decisions. When everything is normal, we are generally pretty good at this. But in a new, stressful, even traumatizing situation like a pandemic, you have to know that we will all be challenged at gathering information and making decisions. Union officials, employees, and employers will all be well served to understand that the best decisions during this time will not be made quickly.

This can be a terrible time in labour relations. But it could also lead to bridge-building and new ways of solving problems. What kind of labour relations we practice in the time of COVID-19 is up to us!

Labour Relations, Pandemic Style

You might be interested in